One Gardner Bullis School student is using his entrepreneurial spirit and love for reading to promote literacy in local communities. Better known as the “Bay Area bookworm,” Amar Ahuja has spent the past year spreading the word about the importance of reading.
The 12-year-old said he raised $1,000 for Project READ-Redwood City through a summer reading challenge promoted on his Instagram account. Amar also uses the account to share his favorite books – including those from the “Harry Potter” and “Percy Jackson” series – with the community.
“I know as an almost teenager and having teenage brothers (that) a lot of kids go on Instagram. So, I knew that would be a good way to spread the word,” Amar said. “When I actually went to the program at the Redwood City library, I saw all these kids trying to do math and do reading, and learn writing. So, donating $1,000 felt like I was really contributing to that.”
Amar, a Los Altos Hills resident, is a sixth-grader at Gardner Bullis. He said his work as the Bay Area bookworm developed out of a T-shirt making unit in Rocket Club, the entrepreneurship and STEAM course he attends on Saturdays.
The slogans he came up with for his T-shirts, “Read read read” and “Literacy is life,” became the foundation for his online platform.
“Seeing other people learn to read and write and seeing like, ‘Oh, I love this book that the Bay Area bookworm recommended,’ it just makes my heart feel warm,” Amar said.
Amar’s mother, Mona Ahuja, helps him run his social media account and supports him in his advocacy endeavors. Ahuja said she saw Amar’s love for reading develop as he found his place as the youngest of three brothers.
“Spending time with each of them has been different, and then Amar is just a totally different person. So, it’s been really fun to see that and really help him foster this love of reading and this love of giving back,” Ahuja said.
Amar said he hopes to partner with other organizations promoting literacy, as well as potentially partnering with a local library and/or bookstore in the near future. He also shared plans to hold another fundraiser in the future, the details of which will be announced on his Instagram account.
“It’s really awesome to see his confidence grow,” Ahuja said. “So many of us struggle, even as adults, to find our passion. And right now, it seems like this is what it is for him.”
For more information on the Bay Area bookworm’s advocacy work, visit @thebayareabookworm on Instagram.
